The Marketing Funnel as we know it is DEAD ?? Introducing: The Hourglass Model

The marketing funnel as we know it is a concept commonly referred to as one of the core marketing models, used by companies and consultants to represent the progression of a potential customer from first contact with a product or brand to purchase. will be used.

The concept of a marketing funnel emerged to describe the steps a customer must go through before closing a deal for a service or product. However, the sales journey doesn't end with the sale. Customer service and customer loyalty continue after the sale. This is not that difficult to understand. If the customer journey were like a video game, the moment of sale would mark the completion of a stage. During the after-sales stage, goals change, other challenges arise, and with them countless opportunities. In other words, a new moment in the relationship between companies and customers is beginning.

However, product acceptance can extend further through consumption and evaluation, to the point where customers actually do the “marketing” on behalf of the brand. In other words, they become advocates, actively spreading marketing's most valuable asset: word of mouth. Therefore, a traditional “funnel” no longer represents the entire customer journey.

The idea is to understand that your customers are going through every step of their relationship with your company and are looking to stay informed throughout the process. Therefore, we can say:?

Visitors are attracted to the information content and ultimately provide information that becomes a business opportunity.

Once contacted by your sales team, this opportunity will be converted into a customer.?

As a customer, this person is constantly informed about how to use the products and services you offer more effectively.?

Customers may want to recommend your company to colleagues.

But, how did the traditional marketing funnel approach change??

Initially, the traditional funnel had these stages in the customer journey:?

Awareness:

Prospects become aware of your brand and they engage with it for the first time. They might not know a lot about you, your products or services so in this stage the focus is on branded content and marketing materials that increase brand awareness.

Consideration:

This is the middle of the funnel, where prospective customers have engaged with your brand in a meaningful way. They might have signed up for a webinar, subscribed to the newsletter, or followed the brand on social media.

Conversion:

This stage focuses on the end result, meaning the prospect has changed its status to customer and has made a purchase.

Loyalty:

Through methodical and frequent communication you build a relationship with your audience and create a sense of loyalty through special marketing efforts. You send them weekly newsletters with valuable and educational content and offer them special discounts for your products or services.

Advocacy:

Receptive individuals from the customer base in your loyalty program support your future marketing efforts and start to advocate for your brand, products or services.

But, now with the hourglass model the funnel looks like this:?

The “marketing hourglass” model is more appropriate. The purchase/sign-up process is just the central point, and the customer's progression through the funnel expands through additional phases of engagement with the product and, ultimately, turning them into advocates.

This is also relevant in the context of retargeting and development programs. It's important to understand and assess where your customers are at any point in their journey. Are they actively involved in the process or excluded from the process? In this context, to drive customers to the hourglass as efficiently as possible, you need to define the right marketing flow based on customer paths and customer behavior.

The marketing hourglass model defines this advancement and provides a blueprint for how businesses can attract potential and active customers through engagement. The benefit is that you can first define the characteristics of customers at each level and then understand the processes required to move between each level. In this context, you can develop marketing strategies and tactics that "guide" your customers throughout their journey in order to maximise their experience, value, and engagement.

However, it's also important to remember that the marketing hourglass doesn't necessarily progress in a straight line. Customers do not automatically move from one level to the next. You can go back to the previous level or jump to the next level. Therefore, as a business, you cannot assume that you have completed each stage of the "process" and reached the corresponding "level of development." This needs to be reflected in your communications and tactics so that each previous phase is reinforced throughout the hourglass.?

The hourglass model further clarifies the involvement of all areas along the customer journey and emphasizes the need for all these areas to contribute to the same goal (conversion or sale).

Although all control of the process lies with the marketing team, it is critical that pre-sales, sales, and support teams are involved in defining goals and strategy. The most interesting thing is that if, on the one hand, the vision of how to feed the customers has to follow an upward curve, on the other hand, every new way of approaching customers and building relationships with them means new opportunities for new business.?

So, now that you have a better understanding of the new marketing funnel model, what are your thoughts on it? Do you think all these stages reflect the reality of the journey of a customer? Or are these just filler stages? We’re keen on hearing your opinion, make sure to leave a comment or DM us ;)